Vikings on cruise again?

September 24, 2006|DON PIERSON Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO -- Stepping up in class again, the Bears go to Minnesota, where they hope the Vikings have again embarked upon another Love Boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka. Is Fred Smoot still on the team? Yes. The talkative cornerback once said, "Three quarters of the earth is covered by water and the rest is covered by me." Is that why he allegedly helped organize that infamous boat trip? Could be, but this year he is sticking to land so far. Last week he helped the Vikings beat Carolina, something the Bears couldn't do last January. Small detail: Smoot didn't have to cover Steve Smith, who was out injured. Did the Vikings really beat the Panthers or did Carolina coach John Fox feel sorry for them? Fox definitely missed the boat by making one of the goofiest decisions in special teams history and handing the Vikings their chance to win. But the Vikings still had to score 10 points to do it. Will the Bears play their first string this time? Last Jan. 1, the Bears prepared for the Panthers by resting most of their starters in the regular-season finale in the Metrodome. It didn't seem to help Rex Grossman or anybody else, but Grossman appears to have recovered from his vacation. Can the Vikings beat the Bears? Sure can, but new coach Brad Childress, from Aurora, still is working out some kinks. New safety Dwight Smith played for the first time last week, for example, after being benched in the opener for an off-field incident. Familiar defense The Vikings and Lions play the same Tampa-2 defense Lovie Smith brought to the Bears. Until the Vikings and Lions become more adept at it, it could help the Bears. Bears quarterback Rex Grossman said Smith saw a weakness in the Lions' scheme and added a play to the game plan last Thursday. They practiced it for the first time on Friday. On Sunday, Smith called the play and it resulted in the 41-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian. Berrian was to run a middle route if the back-side safety didn't bite on a play-fake, or sprint behind the safety if he bit, which Smith said he would based on his film study. "He knows the weaknesses of some of the defenses that are very similar to ours," Grossman said. "That was the first time he has done that, and he's 1-for-1 with a touchdown, so that was fun to see him get involved with the offense." "If you execute (the Tampa-2) properly, it doesn't matter if they know what's going on," Vikings safety Darren Sharper said. "But the pressure is on us this week to execute, because they do know what we're doing." Sharper was asked if Berrian could get behind the Vikings' defense and score the way he did against the Lions as well as the Packers in Week 1. "You ever see me get beat from behind?" Sharper asked. "We'll be OK."